Obama prods Jones to pass ethics law
STATE SENATE | But decision to intervene carries political risks for Dem nominee
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Wednesday phoned his political mentor, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), to encourage him to quickly pass state ethics legislation that runs the risk of dying if action isn’t taken soon.
"Senator Obama called Senator Jones today to offer his strong support for the ethics reforms pending before the Senate and urged him to pass them at the earliest possible opportunity," Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
(AP)
The move marked a shift from last week, when Obama’s campaign ducked questions from the Chicago Sun-Times about whether Obama should intervene to save the ethics bill. Good-government activists and some elected officials reacted by publicly asking Obama to intercede with Jones.
Their cries put Obama in a trickbag. If Obama didn’t talk to Jones, he risked being labeled a hypocrite because passing ethics bills in Springfield and Washington are among his major accomplishments.
But, now that Obama has interrupted his presidential campaign to weigh in on the local issue, he risks looking ineffectual if Jones doesn’t call the Senate back to Springfield soon.
The Illinois House has voted overwhelmingly to block Gov. Blagojevich’s changes to the ethics bill, which would limit campaign contributions from state contractors.
The Senate has 15 days to follow suit, or the bill, as originally written, dies. Jones has contended the clock doesn’t start running on that deadline until Nov. 12, when he’s set the Senate to reconvene.
But state Attorney General Lisa Madigan and others aren’t sure Jones is right and have encouraged him to call the Senate into session this month.
The Obama campaign would not say how Jones responded to Obama. A Jones spokeswoman said her boss has not changed his plans so far. She declined to say if he is considering doing so.